


IO

by MagicaLyss



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, IO movie, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Teen Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-20 02:06:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17613398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicaLyss/pseuds/MagicaLyss
Summary: In which Peter and Tony are the last two people on earth with Peter trying desperately to find a way to stay and Tony wants to take Peter to the last spaceship leaving earth.Based on the Netflix Movie IO(You don't need to have seen it to read this)





	IO

"This is Peter Parker. Day 143 alone on Earth. The honey bee project isn't going how we hoped. I don't think I'll be able to complete this project in time. There's no way of telling just how this will play out in the end. Either way... I can't make it to the spaceship site just with my ATV. I'd never make it far enough... Unfortunately, I think I'll have to live out my last days here while oxygen and food eventually run out. Over and Out."

  
The hot air balloon carefully landed just outside the area claimed by Peter and once by his dad when they were trying to discover how to make humans evolve to survive the polluted air. Unfortunately, his dad never came back from one of the expeditions into The Zone, abandoning Peter at their home. 

A man stumbles out of the hot air balloon. He's at least double Peter's age, oxygen mask carefully strapped over his mouth and nose, goggles obscuring the rest of his face, dressed in what used to be nice clothes but are now ratty and dirty with wear. He pulls off his goggles and oxygen mask, eyes wild as he looks over to the teenage boy who stands barefoot in the field, watching with cautious suspicion. 

"Who are you? Where's Richard Parker?" The man demands, dragging himself to wobbly legs. 

"He's out. Not here right now. I'm Peter. What do you need?" Peter asks, narrowing his eyes as the man takes another step towards him. "I can help you instead."

"I'm looking for Richard. Not for some kid. What the hell are you still doing on Earth?" the man says, frowning as he looks over the kid. The teenager somehow looks perfectly healthy despite living on a dying planet. He's wearing a pair of blue jeans, an MIT sweatshirt and is barefoot in the grass. Casual. As though he hasn't been alone for half a year and isn't slowly dying thanks to the toxicity of the air.

"Research. What are you still doing here? And who are you?" Peter questions, thankfully not feeling at all threatened by the man.

The man narrows his eyes in response, a frown tugging at his lips. "I'm Tony. Tony Stark. I'm here because I was working with Richard. Or at least I used to before my campsite got hit by a storm and I had to improvise. Figured I'd come to see if I could compare my results with Richard's," Tony explains. 

"Richard... Um, my dad's dead. Been dead for 6 months, give or take. I'm sorry," Peter murmurs, figuring he might as well admit it now instead of continue lying. If this guy is telling the truth, he must've been close to Richard if they were partners for this project Before.

"He's... He's dead?" Tony repeats, anger sparking in his eyes. 

"Yeah. Went into The Zone to get data. Never came back," Peter explains, nodding at Tony and offering a smile. "I could get you some water if you'd like, Mister Stark. Or food. I'm sure you're hungry after your journey."

A look of confusion crosses the man's face before he nods slowly and follows the teenager back towards the house. 

  
Sipping the water, Tony can't help but worry. This kid looks barely old enough to drive let alone live by himself with zero human interaction for months, holding down the fort and trying his best to collect data to save the planet. That just sounds messed up. 

"How old are you?" Tony finally asks, breaking the icy silence. 

Peter turns, eyebrows furrowing. "Sixteen. Almost seventeen... I'm sorry your trip was pointless."

"It wasn't pointless," Tony admits, putting the metal cup down on the table in front of him and relaxing in his chair. "I'm kind of glad I came. People aren't meant to be alone like this."

Peter crosses his arms defensively over his chest, but all it succeeds in doing is making himself look younger. "You don't think I know that?" 

Tony sighs, but he isn't sure whether or not it's his place to say anything. He's never been good at the heart to heart things. So he lets it go.

"You mentioned food?"

  
*

Night falls sooner than Tony wanted. He wanted to ask if Peter knew where to find helium for his hot air balloon. He wanted to ask just how hard it was to spend all this time alone. He wanted to ask about Richard. He wanted to ask if Peter was planning on going to the last spaceship to leave Earth. He wanted to know more than he deserved to know, he supposes. He'd only just met the kid. Peter didn't have to tell him anything if he didn't want to. 

Tony was given a blanket, a small pile of clothing that used to belong to Richard, and a couch to sleep on for the night, directions to the nearest bathroom the last words spoken to him by the teenager before he was left alone in the room. 

Tony had been working at his tower in New York on the Evolution Project, occasionally exchanging emails with Richard. Unfortunately, the area was on the outskirts of The Zone, meaning it didn't take long before Tony only had a single room he could stay in without an oxygen tank, pure oxygen pumped into the lab through the air vents. And soon he was running out of oxygen. Being in The Zone wasn't going to work and there was no way he could take a jet or plane to find Richard, so he collected all the helium he could find throughout the city and headed off in a hot air balloon towards where he knew he could find Richard. 

Or in his case, find Richard's son, way outside The Zone, by himself.  

He doesn't think he'd be able to last like that. All alone. Absolutely nobody but the honey bees to keep him company. He's sure he'd drive himself insane. 

  
*

When morning comes around, Peter's already up. Breakfast of salad and beans served out on the old dining room table. It looks nicer, tidier than it had the night before, but Peter looks a lot more exhausted. 

"Sleep well?" Peter asks, gesturing to the table politely. "I made breakfast. Normally I'd skip and just have a bigger lunch, but I figured since I had guests..."

"Thanks," Tony murmurs, sitting down and picking up the plastic fork. "Yeah, I slept fine. You?"

"Not great," Peter admits. "Had to tend to the greenhouse for a little bit. There was a storm recently and there were a few things I still needed to get around to fixing."

The pair lapse into silence. Not necessarily uncomfortable, but there's an awkwardness to the air.

"Have you really been alone this whole time?" Tony suddenly blurts, wanting to apologize but not wanting to let Peter have a pass. He needs to know.

Peter frowns a little bit, eyes glazing over as he thinks. "Yeah. Been six months since my dad. He was all I had left. I wasn't even supposed to be here. Once everything shut down almost ten years ago, I went to my aunt and uncle. My mom and dad came here to try to fix what had happened while the rest of the world prepared for departure. My Uncle died when the air started to get worse. He worked in a not so great environment and it ended up killing him. My Aunt didn't have the money to afford the food anymore and we had to start thinking about buying oxygen too... She called my mom, told her either I had to be collected or she'd take me to the colony where she was going."

"Did your mom come?" Tony asks, frowning in concern. 

"Yeah. Her and Dad came and got me. Took me here. That was about five years ago. Turns out, my aunt never made it to the spaceship. She got jumped and killed for her things by a group of people trying to make it to the colony. Mom died a couple years ago. Me and Dad buried her out back. And then dad... You know. So yeah, been just me here," Peter explains, a nostalgic melancholy to his voice.

"That sucks, kid. I'm sorry," Tony says, quickly stuffing some more lettuce into his mouth. 

Peter shrugs, wrinkling his nose. "What about you? What's your shitty background?"

"Why do you assume it's shitty?" Tony asks, frowning.

"If it wasn't, why would you be here? Why would you have worked alongside Richard like this? Why would you be showing up here alone?" 

"Yeah... My wife and daughter died. A long time ago. Car Crash when the first of the death started. Someone died in the car and smashed into theirs. I sought out Richard to see if there was anything we could do before it was too late," Tony explains. It still hurts, deep aching pain in his chest when speaking about Pepper and Morgan. 

"Sucks," Peter says, sipping at his murky water casually. 

"Why didn't you leave? Why didn't you get on one of those ships and get the hell off Earth?"

This seems to stump Peter for a moment, sadness clouding his expression. 

Finally, in an impassive voice, he says, "Didn't have the resources. Only got ATV's here and those can only get to and from The Zone. I can't get anywhere close enough to the sites. I can only carry so much oxygen and so much food with me."

Tony tries to rationalize. He knows it would be a hell of a lot harder to try to travel with Peter on the hot air balloon, but something inside him decides there's no way in hell he's leaving this kid on Earth.

"We can take the hot air balloon. Once the wind changes, we can leave," Tony blurts, the rational part of his brain arguing that taking Peter with him in insanity. There's only so much oxygen and doubling the weight on the balloon is going to need even more helium that he doesn't even have in the first place. But if he leaves, so does Peter.

The teenager looks genuinely concerned for a moment before shrugging and standing from the table.

"Kay. I've gotta go out. I'll be back in a few. You can make yourself productive by fixing that turbine out back. You'll find it," Peter says, arms crossed over his chest again. His eyes radiate pain and exhaustion, but his facial expression holds nothing. "When I get back, we'll plan our route."

"Where are you going?" Tony asks, frowning and standing as well. The room isn't necessarily small, but it's small enough that the tension makes them both feel claustrophobic. 

"Out. I'll be back in a few hours." 

"I'm coming with you," Tony argues, frowning at the kid. 

Peter rolls his eyes and then shrugs. "I can do it by myself, you know. I'm not just a kid. I've been doing it alone for half a year, but if you insist, I do have an extra ATV you can use."

  
*

Peter makes sure to keep a careful eye on Tony as they drive into The Zone. He needs to do this. It's been too long and he feels like Tony deserves it too. For one, he needs some things for the greenhouse, but more importantly, he needs to visit the wreckage. 

He hasn't been to visit since a few weeks after he found it. He was barely even certain if it was the right spot, but he found the dog tags and knew it was right. Tony deserves closure especially after what happened to his family. 

"Turning this way and then on foot for a bit," Peter says over the roar of their engines. 

Tony nods once, both of their faces mostly obscured by the oxygen masks they need to wear now that they're in The Zone. 

They pull off to the side of the path once Peter signals for it, leaving their ATV's just on the edge of the dead forest.

"What are we doing here?" Tony asks, following as Peter leads them off into the forest, orange tags marking the tree branches as the follow the narrow path towards where Peter knows the wreckage will be.

"Gotta show you something," Peter replies shortly. He's trying his best not to cry. Having another human being right beside him is hard. The only that's stopping him from getting the comfort he so desperately wants, is the idea of Tony getting weirded out and abandoning him. It's not as though it would be too hard. He's got the hot air balloon, access to all the food in the greenhouse, and keys to the ATV. Luckily, being able to hear Tony's heavy breathing through the oxygen mask is enough to tide him over for his need for human contact.

Finally, they make it to the location.

It's just under a tree, right outside the city. The ATV is wrecked, already having been salvaged for parts by Peter, though even then there hadn't been much to take. There are a few empty oxygen tanks around the ATV and some random things scattered in the grass from what had been left behind. The dog tags hang in a tree branch right above, twinkling brilliantly as they swing.

Tony takes a cautious step forwards, carefully pulling the dog tags towards him.

The man freezes, frowning at the bloodstained metal resting cold in his palms.

"They're dad's. Found this when I went looking for him. No body. Never found one. Searched for months before giving up. No idea what happened to him. ATV crash and then tried to make it out of The Zone is my best guess," Peter explains, sentences short but full of heavy emotions.

"He just... Disappeared?" Tony says, carefully hanging the dog tags back on the tree. 

"Basically yeah. Some part of me wants to think he met up with a colleague and made a safe trip to the launch site and is on the colony somewhere. I don't know. What I do know, is that he's gone. He left and he's never coming back." There's a wave of anger to Peter's voice that doesn't seem quite right for the babyface and innocent eyes. 

"That... That really sucks, kid. I'm sorry," Tony mumbles. He's inexplicably angry too. If Richard did end up on the colony, why would he just leave Peter alone like this? If Richard is dead, why would his body be gone? From the looks of the crash, it doesn't look like Richard could've made it far on foot. The body would be here too.

Peter sits in the dirt, ignoring the fact that one of his only pairs of good jeans will stain. He just wants to remember.

"He wasn't a good dad anyways," Peter admits, trying in vain to blink the tears away.

Tony sits beside him, looking off in the scenery. His dad's crash site, but the man is wearing his dad's clothing. He's the kind of person who should be wearing crisp suits and sunglasses, not old jeans and faded t-shirts that are too big and smell like dirt. It doesn't feel right to be wearing a dead man's clothes.

Their knees are pressed up against each other, but Peter refuses to look over. He doesn't want to collapse in emotions and overwhelming desire for physical contact. Nothing special, just a hug. That's all he's been wishing for since his mom died. 

"Why not? I know some things about bad fathers," Tony says, wishing they didn't have to be hiding behind the oxygen masks.

Peter shrugs, staying silent besides the shaky inhalations of oxygen from the tank.

Finally, "He cared more about the project than me and mom. It's not that he didn't care at all, it was always just obvious where his priorities were. Have dinner with us or watch the honey bees. Spend time with me or spend days on that stupid radio. Comfort me after mom died or track the colony's path through the sky. It was always work."

Tony sighs, "Same with my dad. The company was always more important to him than I was. Public's eye or what I wanted. I never mattered as much as his work either."

"After mom died... He stopped caring altogether. He'd go out for long trips like this one. Sometimes I went looking for him, sometimes I couldn't care less if he came back or not. The only time he'd speak to me was about the project, getting me ready in case something happened... You asked if I'd been alone for the six months. Truthfully, I've been alone for years, since Mom died."

  
*

They did a quick detour after switching out their oxygen tanks to get the things they needed from the city before heading back home where they could breathe more freely than before. Almost immediately, Peter disappeared off to the greenhouse, telling Tony to shout if he needed anything.

Tony didn't know what to think. He didn't know it was possible for someone so young and with the most innocent eyes and kindest demeanours to hold that much pain. He knew what pain was like, but he's a grown adult. Peter should be happy. Carefree. Shouldn't have to think about death almost constantly. Shouldn't have lost as much as he did. He doesn't deserve it.

Though, come to think of it, neither did Morgan. She was the sweetest, little, bouncing baby girl with big brown eyes just like Peter's. She didn't deserve what she got, but at least the life she did get was happy. At least she didn't have to carry the grief and guilt that Peter does.

Something paternal takes over his chest, leaving Tony struggling for breath with the overwhelming desire to take care of the teenager. 

It's hard to imagine being alone for that long like he has been. Sure Tony's been more or less alone as well, but he's had U and Dum-E and the other robots he had in his lab. He had Rhodey and Steve and Happy and Nat, who all left just last year to take one of the shuttles to the colony, thinking he was crazy for staying on Earth for any longer. Sure, he wasn't exactly a role model when it came to taking care of yourself, but he's an adult. He doesn't need to be taken care of. This teenager's been alone since he was thirteen. He's been without a real parent since he was barely a teenager. For years. And then he had to watch his dad leave and never come back. 

If it turns out Richard's on the colony, Tony's going to have a bone to pick.

Peter returns in the middle of Tony's internal anger, a bowl of vegetables pressed to his chest. His eyes are big and unmistakeably bloodshot, but he doesn't say anything as he goes to the counter to start making the salad. They see to only have the ingredients for a salad. Or maybe Peter's saving the good food for when they go on their journey. Tony doesn't bother asking, he's just glad he can have vegetables and food anyways.

"What was it like Before? I was too young to remember much and even then, it wasn't really before," Peter says, steering the obvious conversation topic away from himself.

"Before? Oh... Um, it was beautiful. Here is still pretty damn beautiful, but it was beautiful everywhere Before. And there were so many people. It was incredible. Loud, but a good kind of loud. I lived near the city and it was alive. All the time. Even at night, it was still loud and bright and full of constant life," Tony explains, watching the teenager move diligently and purposefully around the small kitchen. "It was just incredible. I had a friend who had the cutest dog in the world and another friend who had an abundance of cats. It was better. The world doesn't deserve this."

"People are bad. Never realized what they were doing," Peter mumbles bitterly. He shakes his head and turns to Tony suddenly smiling. "I've seen pictures of fish! Did you ever see fish?"

"Yeah. Fish used to be a regular thing. Going fishing and having pet fish and eating fish. Fish used to be an everywhere thing. It was a pretty world ending day when they officially went extinct from the wild," Tony admits. He sometimes still can't believe that the world actually came to this after everything.

The smile drops off Peter's face, but he doesn't respond, busying himself with dishing up the lunch. 

"When do we leave?" Tony asks, desperate to start up the conversation again. 

Peter shrugs a little, placing the plate of salad with the same plastic fork he had for breakfast down in front of him.

"We should be leaving as soon as we can. The launch site is far. If we want to make it in time, we need to leave soon. I know where we can get lots of helium. There's a place in The Zone. It's far, but doable. Dad did a few times and it was a pretty close call with the oxygen supply. Though I'm not sure if we could go, make it back, and then take the balloon all the way to the launch site. I doubt that's doable. The launch is in 5 days. We need to move soon," Peter rambles before blushing heavily as though he just realized he was doing so. "Sorry. Normally, I'd just be rambling like that to myself, not to a person."

"It's okay. You're right. We'll leave at dawn tomorrow morning. To The Zone and all the way back before night hits. Pack as much oxygen as you can. We'll spend the night here and then set out in the hot air balloon for the launch site," Tony announces. "You think it's doable?"

"We have to try."

  
*

Peter doesn't sleep much again that night, too anxious of the day to come. He doesn't feel ready to leave. Earth has been his home forever. Earth has been home to humans forever. It's not fair that everyone has to leave because we destroyed this planet. He tried to fix this. He tried with everything he had to make humans to withstand Earth's air without the necessary oxygen, but he failed. He inevitably failed, and the guilt is crushing him from the inside out. He failed. He failed to save the earth and every human's home. 

When the sun finally rises in the horizon, signalling morning, Peter's still exhausted. He managed a couple split up hours, but nightmares can be a bitch.

It's true, people can't handle being alone like Peter has been. Peter's had more mental breakdowns than he can count. After his dad disappeared, Peter spiralled into panic and pain and anguish and confusion and overwhelming loneliness. He spent three weeks searching the forest for his father's body, only finding the leftovers of the ATV under the tree and the dog tags. Every night he'd pull off his oxygen mask right on the edge of The Zone, ignoring the ache in his lungs as they struggled in the thin air, and scream into the emptiness. 

He hadn't been okay. Nowhere near it. He'd lost everything. And even though his father hadn't been quite a dad to him after his mom had passed, he still lost the only human interactions he got. 

So he'd scream into the forest, wishing he could hear birds flutter in fear, wishing he could watch the leaves shake with his anguish, wishing there was any movement other than himself.

He'd scream until his throat would feel raw and his lungs would ache with desperation for oxygen. He'd scream, shrill and pained, so full of that raw sorrow, that grief that ate at him alive. He'd scream and the tears would spill over no matter how dehydrated he felt. He'd scream and then he'd collapse to the ground, sobbing in agony and clawing at his chest to try to rip himself open and give his lungs at least a little bit of relief. 

And then he'd start the journey home. 

Sometimes he walked just to see if his lungs could take it. See if maybe one day he couldn't make it all the way out of The Zone. See if maybe one day he'd suffocate without enough oxygen and die. Because let's face it, nobody was expecting him. Not home, not at the launch site, not on the colony. Nowhere. Nobody. Alone, so why not give up?

He never did. And now he's got Tony. Who's already outside, setting up the ATV's and stocking the hot air balloon, diligently working to prepare themselves for the journey ahead of them. 

Peter knows he can't break now. He can't break with all of this resting on his shoulders. 

"Hey," he calls out, finally convincing himself to leave the house and approach the man. 

Tony turns, smiling gently at Peter who's still dressed in a pair of Nemo pyjama pants and a black t-shirt with a science pun on it and barefoot in the grass. 

"Hey, kiddo. You ready for this?" Tony asks, already feeling incredibly comfortable around the kid. His dad instincts have been dormant since that car crash and are a little overeager for the chance to come out again.

Peter nods confidently, despite the painfully obvious tear tracks down his pale cheeks.

Tony decides not to mention it, figuring the kid will talk if he wants to. Plus, they're still pretty close to strangers, forced together in the dire situation. Of course, Tony never had to suggest to take Peter on the trip so it's sort of his fault for making it a dire situation. 

"Perfect. We'll head out in an hour. You need to get changed into something a little more durable. I'll fix us some breakfast and something to take with us," Tony instructs, waving the boy back towards the house.

If this wasn't the end of the world, he could imagine just how domestic the situation is. Making his kid breakfast and packing him a lunch. Getting ready to take his kid to school. A wave of guilt washes over him at the thought. He fucked up when it came to his firstborn. He can't lose another kid, and this kid isn't even his to lose. But he'll be damned if he lets anything happen to Peter.

The teenager seems happier than usual, bouncing in his seat as he scarfs down his breakfast and fills a bottle with water for their journey. They can't really drink or eat while in The Zone, but it's the thought that counts. 

Tony isn't quite sure why Peter's acting so happy but his curls are wild, and his socks slip on the hardwood, and his oversized sweatshirt makes him look cute and small, and his doe eyes are bright with a childish innocence. Who is Tony to question it?

When they're finally ready to go, just under an hour later, Peter hops on an ATV and takes the lead off towards The Zone. Peter's not carrying anything with him except for his own oxygen mask and hazmat suit that might be necessary though they aren't sure yet. Tony has the wagon hooked up to the back of his ATV carrying their oxygen supply and a lunch kit full of vegetables in case they need to eat again, though hopefully, it won't be necessary. And a foldable second wagon for Peter to carry with their helium tanks on the way back. 

  
*

They finally take a break around midday in the very center of The Zone. They've still got the rest of the city to cross, though luckily Peter seems to know every shortcut possible to get there. 

The oxygen masks make their breathing loud but keeps everything from fading into the dreaded dull silence that had occupied most of their time before meeting. 

They're relaxing in the quiet of an empty, rotting coffee shop when Peter suddenly speaks.

"Hey, um, I know it might be, you know, weird and all, but I, uh, I just- I, um," Peter stutters nervously.

Tony gives him what he hopes to be a reassuring smile, though with the gas masks it's probably hard to tell. "Spit it out, kiddo. What's on your mind?"

"I just want to thank you for doing this for me. I know you don't have to and I know I'm making your job a thousand times harder because of all the extra supplies, but you chose to anyway. And for that, I have to say thank you, Mister Stark. It means a lot to me, really. After everything... I don't deserve this. I don't deserve to be saved like this, but you still choose to," Peter explains, voice higher than normal and breaking partway through. It's obvious he's holding back tears and that sends a stab of sadness through Tony's iron heart.

"You deserve to be saved more than most people, Peter. You tried to save the world. It didn't work out, but some questions don't have answers. If anyone deserves a place on the colony or on IO, it's you," Tony replies easily. 

Sure he's only known the kid for a few days. Sure there's a chance neither of them makes to the launch site. Sure there's a chance that once they make it to the colony, Peter will never speak to him again. But they're here. Now. In this moment, all they've got is each other. And there's no way Tony will let Peter suffer alone any longer.

"Thank you. You deserve it too."

  
*

They barely had enough oxygen to make it out of The Zone. 

It was close. Too close for Tony, though Peter didn't seem bothered by the minute of no oxygen as they flew through the forest towards the sanctuary of the house. 

As soon as they reached safe air, the oxygen masks were ripped from their faces, legs trembling as they collapsed to the grass outside the house, ATV's still running next to them.

Peter rolls onto his back, eyes wide as he scans the cloudy sky, air puffing out of his lungs. 

"That was insane," the teenager breathes seemingly amused by the adrenaline rush.

"Sure was," Tony agrees, sighing heavily in relief, lungs desperate for the wondrously clean air.

"Dinner?" Peter suggests, not making a move to get up.

"You're seriously hungry after that?" Tony asks, smiling at the peaceful teenager.

"I'm always hungry. I'm a teenage boy. What do you expect?" Peter laughs, the noise washing over both of them. It had been a long time since Peter had laughed. It had been a long time since Tony had heard someone else laugh. It had been a long time since the pair had really been at peace. Maybe deliriously at peace, but still there nonetheless. 

"Yeah, okay. More salad?"

"I was thinking corn, beans, and potatoes, but salad works too," Peter jokes, the grin refusing to slide off his face as he sits up.

"Why have we only been eating salad if you have all these vegetables to eat?"

"Do you know nothing about botany? Lettuce can be harvested fastest. Potatoes take about ten weeks, corn takes just as long, and beans take about two months. It's harvesting time for both now," Peter explains. "And here I was thinking you were smart and you know nothing about vegetable growing."

Tony laughs quietly, running a hand through his longer than usual, greasy hair. "I know cars. I know robotics. When the hell would I just decide to learn about vegetables? I grew up in the city, remember?" 

"Come on. I can't harvest all the vegetables by myself!" 

All the vegetables were to be cooked and then packaged in the containers Peter had managed to snag from the store a few years back to be taken on the journey with them. Eating wouldn't be easy because of the need for oxygen masks, but they'll make do. There are a few other safe zones along the way they can stop at for resting between flights, though it can't be a long break. They're lucky that the wind is actually mostly decent. If a storm hits, if something breaks, if they need to rest for too long, they'll die. They'll be stuck on Earth and they'll die. There's no way around it. 

Tony's worried, to say the least. He knows he needs to get Peter to the launch site no matter what. He's young. He's got his whole life ahead of him, even if that life is spent on the colony wishing for Earth. 

He can't have another kid die. 

Not going to happen.

Peter dishes out the plates for them at the dining room table, and if Peter's sitting a little closer than normal, no one mentions it.

They speak occasionally about what they need to pack and exactly how long they have at each resting spot to eat and drink water. But not many words are exchanged, both too worried about what the future may hold for them, neither wanting to admit their unease or concerns.

When they finish, the sounds of plastic forks on ceramic plates coming to end, Peter suggests they go outside to see the stars. They're barely visible through the thick sheet of clouds, but if they squint, the stars twinkle into view.

They're lying on their backs in the soft grass, the sun had set some time a few hours earlier, almost shoulder to shoulder but not quite touching, the only noise being the soft breaths from each of them. And if Peter listens hard enough, not that he's trying, of course, he can hear Tony's heartbeat softly.

"Do you ever miss noise?" Peter asks. "I know you said the city used to always be loud. Do you miss loud?"

Tony hums in thought for a moment. "I used to enjoy the peace a lot. I used to love the silence. But yeah, I miss it. It's lonely here. That's why I want to get to IO. I don't want to live in silence and in loneliness forever. I don't want to have to wear oxygen masks and only eat vegetables. I miss coffee. I miss never being worried about breathing. I miss loud. Because loud meant people."

"I suppose it's different. The closest thing I remember to loud was when Mom and Dad used to fight sometimes. And even then it used to end in silent treatments... What if I hate the colony?"

"What if you do? It's not as though we really have a choice. It's either we go or we die." Tony knows it's harsh. He knows it's not fair to say something like that, but it's true. And there's no way he's going to let Peter think that staying would be the better option.

"Is it really better?"Peter asks, voice somewhere far away, almost getting lost through the noises of the house humming around them.

"What do you mean?" Tony asks, squinting harder to watch what he thinks is IO, passing slowly across the sky.

"Is it really better to live in a place you hate than to not go there at all?" Peter murmurs. He shrugs as best as he can while lying down. "It doesn't make sense, but this is home as much as it might suck to most. I don't see it. I don't see why it's fair for us to leave. The fish died here and they didn't do anything. We ruined this place and yet we get to leave and destroy some new planet that never even saw it coming?" 

"You're smart for a teenager," Tony mumbles like it really makes a big deal.

"I never even went to school. My mom taught me everything from Before and my dad taught me everything from After. Mom was always hopeful. A genius, but an optimist. She always knew Dad would have the answers. That he'd fix everything. And then she got sick. And she was still optimistic. She still thought Dad would save her before it was too late. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. She died way before Dad was even close to finding a cure. Radiation poisoning. It was shit. She died painfully. A few days later, we buried her in the back. Dad cleaned out her room of any valuables and locked the door. Never told me where he hid the key."

Tony takes a long breath, unsure how to respond. How is he supposed to console a boy who's lost everything?

Peter speaks again first. "I shouldn't be whining like this. I'm not the only one who's lost people. This is shit. I'm sorry."

"You're allowed to complain as much as your heart desires, kid. You've earned it. You've been through hell and that's not fair on you," Tony says. "I get it. It sucks, but are you serious about not wanting to come to IO?"

"I dream about fish, Mister Stark," Peter says, seemingly avoiding the question. He sniffles a little bit, but his face is clean of any tears for now. "I dream about fish and the ocean. That's not something I'll ever get to see on IO, but if I continue the Honey Bee Project, I might be able to start an evolution of new species and repopulate this world like it's meant to be. I don't want to give up."

"You're not giving up. You're saving your life. If you stay here, you'll die, Peter. There's no way around it. You might survive another year at this rate, but the radiation is getting worse and the oxygen is getting low. You can't survive forever," Tony replies, shifting over a little to press his shoulder against the teenager.

Peter falls quiet, doe eyes carefully tracing the stars. He turns to look at Tony, head stopping just before touching Tony's arm. 

"I miss being a kid," Peter admits, a bittersweet smile touching his soft features. The world is dark, but Peter is bright. A light in the darkness. 

"You can still be a kid. You don't have to live by yourself in a house on the edge of the world. You can come with me to the launch site and come to IO with me," Tony says, ignoring the ache in his chest to give the kid a hug.

Peter looks up at Tony through wet eyelashes. "You have better things to do than to just care for some kid. You don't need to do this."

"I want to," Tony declares like it's some big news to both of them. "I want to. I haven't known what to do with myself since my daughter had that car accident. I know now. I get to look after you if that's what you want. I get to make sure you make it to the launch site and get to IO. And if it so happens that you want to keep me around, make sure you get to live out a happy life on the colony."

Peter finally breaks. Tears catch on the curves of his nose as they finally are allowed to fall, small hands suddenly reaching out and grabbing onto the sleeve's of Tony's sweater, clutching the fabric like he's scared Tony will just disappear. 

Tony immediately reciprocates, arms wrapping tight around the teenager's waist, drawing him into his chest. Peter buries his face in Tony's chest, shoulders trembling as he cries almost desperately. 

Peter tugs himself closer into the hug, keeping his fists curled tightly in Tony's sweater, pushing his body up against the warmth. Like a little kid who's just had a nightmare, seeking reassurance from a parent. Except it's a kid who's been living a nightmare, seeking reassurance from the only person he's got left. 

A quiet whine escapes from the back of Peter's throat, burying his head farther into the crook of Tony's neck, tears making his sweater damp. Tony doesn't mind, tightening his grip around the boy's back and waist, holding him close and trying to soothe the kid's radiating pain. 

"I've got you, kid. I'm not going anywhere. I've got you. Everything's going to be okay," Tony murmurs gently to the trembling teenager in his hold. It's not enough. Words will never be enough, but they're all Tony is capable of offering right now. The only thing he can give to console the poor kid he's been given the responsibility of caring for. 

"Please don't go.. Please don't leave me," Peter chokes out through his sobs, words muffled by Tony's shirt. " _Please_."

"I'm not going anywhere, Petey. I'm here to stay. Forever. I'm not going to leave you. I promise. I've got you," Tony murmurs, shifting to run his fingers through the kid's dirty curls from lying in the grass. 

Peter lets out another choked noise from the back of his throat, somewhere between a whine and a sob, fingers tangling in the fabric of Tony's shirt, tears making the fabric damp, small body curling desperately against the other man's chest. 

Tony continues to gently card his calloused fingers through the teenager's hair, murmuring soft nothings every few seconds to try to calm him down. Tony's not doing much better, a heavy weighted sadness crushing his lungs. He knows it's not going to be easy. They've still got a long way to go. Not only in distance, but in recovery too. 

*

 There was something fascinating about the next few days for travelling by hot air balloon.

The clouds were thick and constantly fogging up their goggles. The sun was barely visible through the density of the clouds, but occasionally they could spot the glimmer of sunlight, bouncing off the metals they had with them. The oxygen masks were just as loud as ever, but the blowing of the wind pushing them along their course was a rival to the noise. Conversation was pointless, the world too loud around them, though occasionally Peter would grab Tony's sleeve or tuck himself under Tony's arm, just to make sure they were both still there and keeping to their promises.

The night before had been peaceful. A serenity that they both deserved after everything they'd been through. They had gone inside and Tony had followed Peter to his bedroom, just to make sure Peter would be fine by himself. 

Just as he had been about to leave the room to go back to his couch, Peter had squeaked out a quiet request. For Tony to stay. And Tony, being the bighearted softy he is, crawled right into the small bed with Peter and allowed his chest to be used as a pillow for the night. Peter listened carefully to the other's heartbeat, breaths easily matching the steady beat, and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

When dawn broke, they packed what they needed, and took off in the hot air balloon. 

Every day they stopped in one of the areas that had better air to eat some food, drink water, and take off the oxygen masks for just under an hour. 

They took turns sleeping so someone could make sure they stayed on course to get to the launch site, but truth be told, Tony rarely slept, making sure Peter always got much more time than he did. He said he wasn't tired, and it was more or less true. He was too anxious and worried to sleep. They were running low on time and Tony was worried their luck would run out if the wind changed or a storm hit. 

Somehow, some higher power or god maybe, their luck didn't run out.

  
The launch site is visible when Peter wakes up. 

Tony is leaning against the side of the basket, eyes wide and dark circles beginning to form, but a bright smile touching his face. His grin widens when Peter joins him to look over the horizon.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. We've made it." The words could've been so mundane if not for their situation, suddenly having meaning and beautiful hope.

"We did, it" Peter agrees, basking in the euphoric rush of dopamine that fills him up just like the helium fills the hot air balloon above them. 

Tony loosely tosses his arm around Peter's shoulders, barely tall enough to do so, and tugs Peter into his side. Grinning wide and proud as he presses a kiss to Peter's hairline. 

"We did it," Tony echoes once more, resting his chin on top of Peter's head, and watching the launch site come closer and closer through the clouds. 

  
*

 Tony never lets go of the kid as they land the hot air balloon nearby the spaceship, gather their equipment and walk the few yards to get to the opening of the shuttle. 

He refuses to let go of the kid as they cross the opening and walk towards the center of the shuttle. It's going to be about three days spent on the shuttle, but from the looks of it, there will be a supply of oxygen and there's a whole pantry of food behind one of the doors. Tony lets Peter hit the button to send a signal to mission control on the colony to send the shuttle up.

He refuses to let go of his kid as the big doors close automatically behind them, leaving the hot air balloon out on the dead grass, leaving everything they had once called home behind. 

He refuses to let go of his kid even when the rockets start and Peter yawns widely as though he hadn't just slept for six hours. Even when Peter suggests quietly that they get some food and then sleep while they wait to get to IO. Even when Peter tugs on his shirt sleeve a few times to get his attention.

The sound of oxygen filling the room catches Tony's attention and he leans forward to tug the oxygen mask off his own face, letting the almost empty canister roll away from him. Peter smiles behind the mask and does the same, breathing in quiet relief when the warm oxygen fills his lungs. The teenager leans further into the mechanic's hold, eyelids heavy as he peers up at the older man.

"Thank you for getting me here," Peter murmurs, disbelieving gratefulness to his eyes. 

Tony's arm tightens around his shoulders, smiling down at the teenager from where they're sitting in the corner of the room. "Thank you for letting me kidnap you."

"It's not really kidnapping if I let you," Peter argues halfheartedly. A soft sigh escapes him and warms Tony to the bones. "Just... Thank you."

Tony smiles, deciding against making any other jokes. "It's my pleasure, kiddo. I'm glad I could convince you to come with me. I'm glad I found you. And even if you hate the colony more than anything, I'll be right there. Every step of the way."

"You promise?" Peter asks innocent and just like the child he's meant to be.

"I promise, kid. For as long as you want me around, I'll be right here by your side."

"So forever?" 

Tony nods, smile widening. He cups Peter's cheek to tilt his head up and presses another chaste kiss to Peter's forehead. He moves his hand to the back of Peter's neck and tucks the teenager's head in the crook of his neck, making sure to tighten his grip around Peter's back. Peter's breaths fall even to match Tony's heartbeat, silently saying goodbye to Earth and saying hello to the future they'll have on IO.

"Forever."


End file.
